Yemen Urges Int’l Community to Pressure Houthis to Release Detained Journalists

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
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Yemen Urges Int’l Community to Pressure Houthis to Release Detained Journalists

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo

The Yemeni government on Tuesday renewed its calls for the international community to place real pressure on Iran-backed Houthi militias to unconditionally release all detained and abducted journalists.

Dozens of journalists have been held in Houthi prisons since the conflict erupted in 2014.

Speaking on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani asserted that all Houthi leaders and militants behind abuses and violations against journalists will not escape punishment.

“The day will come when they (Houthis) will be held accountable,” Eryani promised.

“On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, we remember the thousands of crimes and violations by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against journalists, including killing, abduction, arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, forced exile, displacement and looting of property,” Eryani said.

“We remember with deep pain our fellow journalists in Houthis prisons, who face execution orders for their political opinions,” Eryani added.

The crimes against journalists reveal the Houthis’ “ugly side,” he said.

“We call on the international community and organizations concerned with protecting journalists to review the tragic conditions experienced by journalists in areas controlled by Houthi militias and condemn the crimes and violations against them,” Eryani said.

The minister also pressed the international community to pressure Houthis into releasing journalists and social media activists without any conditions.

Last month, the insurgents released five journalists who had been detained for years as part of a prisoner swap deal they sealed with the legitimate government.

Even though they released five journalists, Houthis are still holding many others captive.

In Houthi prisons, journalists face the threat of baseless death sentences issued by militant authorities that charge them with treason and other crimes.

Since 2014, Houthis have embarked on raiding all government and private media outlets, arresting hundreds of journalists and media workers and subjecting them to torture.

Yemeni government officials have slammed Houthis for refusing to release remaining journalists as part of the recent prisoner exchange deal that took place in October under UN mediation.



Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisian police on Monday detained Ahmed Souab, a prominent lawyer and fierce critic of the country's president, lawyers told Reuters, raising human rights groups' concerns that a crackdown on dissent will go ahead.

Souab is among the lawyers acting for opposition leaders who received lengthy prison sentences on Saturday on conspiracy charges.

Souab strongly criticized the judge and the trial on Friday, calling it a farce and saying the judiciary had been completely destroyed.

"It seems he was detained because of his critical comments on the trial on Friday," said Samir Dilou, one of Souab's lawyers. Two others lawyers confirmed the detention.

Political parties rejected the rulings, saying they were retaliatory after a trial aimed at cementing President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.

Rights groups say Saied has had full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in 2022.

"The mass conviction of dissidents...is a disturbing indication of the authorities' willingness to go ahead with its crackdown on peaceful dissent," the human rights group Amnesty International said.

Those convicted included prominent leaders of the Islamist Ennahda party, the main opposition party to Saied.

Ennahda Vice President, Noureddine Bhiri received a 43-year prison sentence, while the court sentenced two senior party officials, Said Ferjani and Sahbi Atig, to ​​13 years each.

The largest sentence was 66 years for businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khyam Turki received a 48-year sentence.